Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Ptomaine"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ptomaine \Pto"ma*ine\, n. [From Gr. ? a dead body.] (Physiol.
Chem.)
One of a class of animal bases or alkaloids formed in the
putrefaction of various kinds of albuminous matter, and
closely related to the vegetable alkaloids; a cadaveric
poison. The ptomaines, as a class, have their origin in dead
matter, by which they are to be distinguished from the
leucomaines.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ptomaine
n 1: any of various amines (such as putrescine or cadaverine)
formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria [syn: {ptomain}]
2: a term for food poisoning that is no longer in scientific
use; food poisoning was once thought to be caused by
ingesting ptomaines [syn: {ptomaine poisoning}]
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